What Kind of Tools Does Bookkeepers Use?

What Kind of Tools Does Bookkeepers Use?

Bookkeeping and accounting are crucial parts of maintaining a business. They involve keeping track of your income and expenses, recording business transactions, as well as keeping track of inventory and invoices. Other services include payroll management and more.

You need to keep track of all the money coming into and going out of your business. Otherwise, you could wind up losing money down the line or have to deal with tax issues later on.

Most entrepreneurs and business owners find that handling their accounting and bookkeeping is both tiring and difficult. At the same time, if you make any mistakes while crunching numbers, it could be disastrous for you.

This is where bookkeeping tools come in. You can either hire an accountant to manage your cash flow, or you can use any of the many reliable bookkeeping software out there. These types of software are designed to help you manage your bookkeeping and accounting, and incorporate a variety of financial management features.

What should you look for when purchasing a bookkeeping tool?

There are innumerable bookkeeping tools available on the internet. Some are available for free, while others have price packaging options you can choose depending on the features you want.

Many bookkeeping tools may offer overlapping features, but most of them are also unique in their own way. That’s why you shouldn’t invest in the first bookkeeping tool that you see. Instead, consider sitting down to analyse what features your business really needs. Then, select software that provides you with those features. You don’t want to invest in bookkeeping software that you’ll need to change a few months down the line.

Instead, think about what your business needs. Are you an entrepreneur? A small business owner? A large business owner? Depending on the kind of business you own and your financial needs, the kind of bookkeeping tool you’ll need will change. Look for a bookkeeping tool that doesn’t only have all the features you need, but one that’ll stay with you for years to come.

Here are six popular bookkeeping and accounting tools that are worth checking out:

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is one of the most popular bookkeeping and accounting tools on the internet. Using this software, you can

  • Use a single dashboard to manage all your accounts.
  • Send recurring invoices to customers or clients.
  • Integrate your bookkeeping software with other business applications.
  • Enjoy secure backups.
  • Use the FreshBooks apps on your smartphone to stay up to date on your business’ finances at all times.
  • If your business uses a subscription model, then this software will be ideal for you.
  • It also has time tracking capabilities.

FreshBooks is hugely popular in the Bookkeeping and accounting software market, mainly for its ease of use and wide range of financial management options.

Wave

Wave is better suited to entrepreneurs, freelancers, and businesses with a small number of employees. This software lets you

  • Manage transactions.
  • Handle invoices.
  • Sync your data with Wave, so that you always stay informed about your finances.

Businesses that need inventory management or time tracking features won’t find that with Wave. But otherwise, it’s a powerful tool that provides accurate and precision-based bookkeeping services.

Sage Accounting

Sage Accounting is ideally suited to single-person businesses. Whether you’re a freelancer or you’re running your business by yourself, Sage Accounting offers features like

  • Tracking your cash flow.
  • Financial forecasting.
  • Project management.
  • Sending invoices to vendors.
  • Receiving business financial overviews.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks is another hugely popular bookkeeping and accounting tools, much like FreshBooks. The main difference between these two tools lies in how much more versatile QuickBooks is. With this tool, you can

  • Easily access all your financial data through a single dashboard.
  • Generate invoices.
  • Receive financial reports.
  • Generate payment receipts online.
  • Sync QuickBooks with your bank account, so you always stay informed about your finances.

Xero

Xero is the third great bookkeeping and accounting tool that falls into the same category as FreshBooks and QuickBooks. While many of the features are similar to the other two software, Xero retains enough unique features to make it a powerful bookkeeper for your business.

Xero lets you

  • View your financial data on an intuitive dashboard.
  • Choose between standard and custom-built reports.
  • Create and manage invoices.
  • Manage payroll.
  • Sync Xero to your bank account, so you stay up to date on your financials.

One major unique feature of Xero is that it allows you to add multiple users to the software for no additional charge.

ZipBooks

This is another great bookkeeping tool that’s known for its ability to handle accounts and invoices. With ZipBooks, you can

  • Manage your taxes.
  • Handle accounting tasks for various projects.
  • Cash flow management.
  • Handle invoices and receipts.

ZipBooks also comes with an intelligent system that gives you financial insights based on the data you’ve entered into the software.

Bookkeepers, accountants and business owners alike can  enjoy these tools to leverage innovation to make work easier. Bookkeepers no longer have to fear making mistakes while crunching numbers, and business owners can directly use these types of software and tools.

No matter what software you ultimately use, bookkeepers should consider getting professional indemnity insurance. To learn more about professional indemnity insurance, check out this link.

Conclusion

Bookkeeping and accounting tools make life easier for everyone, not just bookkeepers. Use these six tools to handle your cash flow, and watch your finances grow.

*As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording. The information contained on this web page is general only and should not be relied upon as advice.

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